Mothers of babies in neonatal units could and should be encouraged to provide breast milk for their infants, Mary Renfrew, professor of mother and infant health, is to tell a Unicef conference in Glasgow on 26 November.

Professor Renfrew, who is presenting results of her as yet unpublished review of breast feeding in neonatal units, will call on the Department of Health to include preterm infants in its policies to support breast feeding.

Her review of 48 research papers on breast milk in neonatal units highlights the barriers to women initiating milk production, expressing it for preterm infants …